Firezone vs SoftEther VPN
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Firezone
Open-source secure remote access platform
VS
SoftEther VPN
Multi-protocol VPN server from the University of Tsukuba
| Feature | Firezone | SoftEther VPN |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Elixir | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,993 | ★ 13,447 |
| First released | 2021 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Cisco AnyConnect, Tailscale | Cisco AnyConnect |
Why pick each one
Choose Firezone if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9k GitHub stars
- Written in Elixir
Choose SoftEther VPN if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Mature project with 13.4k GitHub stars
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Firezone or SoftEther VPN better?
Neither is universally better. SoftEther VPN has the larger community, while Firezone is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Firezone and SoftEther VPN free and open-source?
Yes. Firezone is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SoftEther VPN under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Firezone and SoftEther VPN with Docker?
Firezone: yes. SoftEther VPN: check the project docs for container support.